This invention relates to a method and apparatus for mounting components and more particularly to an improved device that permits the handling of a plurality of components at the same time.
There are provided a wide variety of devices that are intended to pick up articles at one position, transport them to another position and place them in an accurate location. Chip or component mounters for electrical apparatus are devices of this type. Such component mounters will pick up a component such as an integrated circuit, capacitor, resistor or the like at a feed station and then transport it to a station where it is mounted on a substrate such as a printed circuit board. During the transportation of the picked up component to the place where it is to be deposited, it is desirable if some further operations may be performed on the component while it is being moved from its pick up station to the station where it will be deposited. It is, however, desirable if the pick up device forms one of a plurality of pick up devices that are all mounted on a common carriage. By mounting a plurality of pick up devices on a single carriage, it is possible to transport a plurality of components without the risk of interference between the various pick up devices as would result if each were mounted on its own carriage.
However, where a plurality of pick up devices are mounted on a common carriage, then, although the likelihood of interference is substantially reduced, the operational speed may be somewhat reduced. This is because it is not always possible to locate the various pick up devices relative to each other on the carriage in a location which corresponds to the location where the individual components are picked up and also where they are deposited. That is, if the spacing of the components is not the same relative to each other at the pick up and deposit points, then the carriage must operate in a somewhat sequential fashion wherein only one component can be picked up and deposited at a given time. Of course, speed of operation still will be increased over using multiple carriages because of the lack of the interference problem and also because the carriage can be moved in sequence without having to travel back and forth between the pick up and deposit stations for each component handled.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved arrangement for picking up a plurality of components by pick up devices carried on a common carriage and depositing them at desired locations.
As has been noted, frequently it is desirable to provide some form of operation on the pick up components during the time when they are transported. If, however, these operations are performed in sequence on the individual components picked up and transported and these operations must be performed one after the other on the components in sequence, then the production speed of the machine will be reduced.
It is, therefore, a further principal object of this invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for mounting components wherein a plurality of components can be handled by pick up devices on a common carriage and different operations can be performed on the components during this operation at the same time.